BookBlitz: Ragesong: Awakening by J.R. Simmons

Blurb

When the peaceful kingdom of Fermicia is enslaved by a power-hungry renegade, its only hope lies in a band of unlikely heroes: two children whose musical abilities allow them to harness the power of Ragesong, and their shape-changing guides.

Jake starts his first day of junior high completely oblivious to the fact that he has been chosen for something incredible. That same afternoon, he learns that he has been marked as one with the power to save an entire kingdom. Through the course of his journey, Jake discovers that his advanced musical abilities are peculiarly connected to a mysterious power known as Ragesong. Joined by a shy, young girl with similar musical talents and two Changelings that hold a fierce loyalty to their homeland and king, Jake must learn to harness this ability in order to survive the dangers of a hostile new world.

Excerpt

Band

Lifting his flute to his lips, Jake blew into it, testing the pitch. When it sounded a little sharp, he pulled the head joint out a little and tried again. Once satisfied with the tuning, he glanced up and saw a speculative expression on Ms. Gladwell’s face. He counted to himself and then started to play his song.

The boys who were smirking jerked their heads up straight. Hearing whispers of recognition as he played, Jake smiled inwardly. His mom had been right; the song had gotten their attention. He played through The Legend of Zelda theme song and when he finished everyone started to clap without even waiting for the teacher’s lead. No one was smirking now and a lot of the boys were talking excitedly.

“All right, quiet down now,” said Ms. Gladwell as she attempted to bring the class under control. “That was lovely, Jake, thank you. It brings back memories.” Winking at him, she laughed. “Zelda is one of my favorites, although none of the sequels have held a candle to the original. Graphics aren’t everything you know.”

All the boys started whispering again. Their teacher played games? How cool was that!

“Yes, yes, I play video games! I am not that old,” she continued. “When I was a girl, I played the original first. Now please sit down, Jake, as we still have one more student who would like to play, and then we need to talk about the syllabus before the bell rings.”

About J.R. Simmons

J.R. Simmons lives in Northern Utah with his wife and 4 boys. He loves spending time with his family and coaching his kids in all of their different sports. He is an avid gamer and is very excited that his boys are picking up on his hobby. J.R. was recently introduced to triathlons and has since found that he loves the sport. Most nights he can be found either sitting down with a good game or hunched over his iPad writing.